We all know that grocery shopping can be a minefield fully designed to blow any weight loss strategy to pieces. It is in the grocery store that the best laid plans fall apart when we see the circus of fun, tempting, colorful packages calling out how wonderful they are from the shelves around us. Now, we could choose to take the willpower approach, sweating with white knuckles gripping the grocery cart as we fight the urges on every aisle……OR…… we can employ a simple retraining strategy.
Any wellness professional will tell you how important it is to stay on the perimeter of the grocery store. I am no different in this area, but I also understand that there are some items on those MIDDLE AISLES that we must traverse great temptation alley to reach, so it’s important to employ a sound strategy to teach you how to get through those areas, so this week I want you to do something different….
- Before you go to the grocery store, make a list of what you need, but put the “middle aisle” items at the bottom of the list.
- Eat right before you go. That goes for any grocery store trip.
- Vow to only buy from the middle aisle what is on your list. Do not pick up a box or bag of anything new to read this week to check out the newest “healthy options.” This is a week to employ the strategy of only buying what it on your list from the middle aisles.
You may be surprised at how this simple strategy can keep a lot of unwanted items out of your house.
ANNOINT YOUR FRONT DOOR AS SACRED! PROTECT IT AT ALL COSTS! Just as a burglar enters the front door and steals your belongings, tempting foods often enter our home to steal our health and our SANITY. If our goal is to make weight loss/maintenance easier and less frustrating, keeping those items out of our homes can go a long way toward helping us make better decisions when we are home. If you consider your front door a “sacred zone” and do not let tempting items cross the threshold, you have crossed off at least one huge hurdle in your day. Consider instituting a “sacred threshold” policy in your house. If you buy tempting snack foods for your kids, consider buying things that they like buy you do not.
“If it’s near you, it will eventually be in you” is a powerful statement. Set up your environment for success instead of fighting foods in your immediate environment. It doesn’t solve everything, but it can make a big difference.
STEP(S) FOR THIS WEEK:
- Make a list of “middle aisle” items and stick to purchasing only those items. Shop the rest of your trip from the perimeter of the store.
- Consider your front door a “sacred zone.” Start to evaluate which foods you allow into your home. Even healthy foods can be a temptation. Start with the foods that cause self-control issues and frustration for you. You don’t have to clean out everything all at once, but keeping new items out can be greatly beneficial.